A NIGHTMARE BETWEEN the SHEETS
What you need to know about controlling dust mites in your bed…
Control = Encasements + DeMite Additive
There are 2 distinct concerns that must be given your attention when it comes to controlling dust mites in your bed.
First: Pillows, mattresses and box springs require your first attention. These locations contain colonies of dust mites that have accumulated over weeks, months or years.
Physicians have been recommending the use of encasements for as long as we can remember to control these colonies of dust mites and their allergens. The goal has been to contain them, restrict their movement to within the encasement and not allow them to escape to the sheets and pillowcases above. Generally speaking, this has been effective and is a necessity as the first step in controlling dust mites and their allergens.
There are definite limitations, however. All encasements are not created equal. The effectiveness of an encasement depends completely upon its fabric and the way it seals around the mattress or pillow. A tightly woven fabric is more effective that a loose weave, but neither is completely efficient if the seal is poor, i.e.: a zipper with large teeth and large openings, or too few stitches per inch on the seams permitting mite allergens to more easily escape through them.
A woven fabric that has been tested for a mean pore size below 10 microns is good, but it is better to purchase one with a mean pore diameter of less than 6 microns to ensure that all dust mite allergens are being trapped inside the encasing. (The mean pore diameter is measured at the small openings where the threads intersect in a woven fabric.)
Encasements trap dust mite allergen and the colonies of dust mites and restrict their movements to within them. However, it is the sheets and pillowcases, blankets and other bedding covering the encasements that may be home to the many hundreds of thousands of dust mites and the millions of their allergens that may also be a real problem. DeMite can help with these allergens and their source.
Another serious consideration should be whether or not the fabric permits your body heat to travel through it when you sleep. An encasement made of plastic or a fabric of a very tight weave will control the mites, but will probably not permit you to sleep comfortably. Air should be able to pass through the fabric. Waterproof fabrics do not allow air to pass through them regardless of what the manufacturer or retailer advertises. However, those fabrics are perfect barriers to dust mite allergens for the most sensitive sufferers.
Second: The single most important concern that an asthma or allergy sufferer can have as they sleep is the bedding – the sheets and pillowcases that they sleep on. It is this specific bedding that can be a major source of their asthmatic or allergic reactions.
Encasements trap the colonies of dust mites and restrict their movements to within them, but it is the sheets, pillowcases, blankets and other bedding covering the encasements that can be home to the many hundreds or thousands of dust mites and their allergens that may be your real problem.
Your environment is continually adding mites to your bedding . . . dust, debris, pollen and a myriad of other components through circulating air, open doors or windows, soiled clothing, pets etc. Your sheets and pillowcases, blankets and other bedding are the dust mites’ paradise. Dust mites need three things to survive; the food of your shed, dead skin cells; the heat of your body; and the moisture that your body emits . . . and all three exist here. And this is where they deposit their allergens . . . fecal matter; body secretions and the exoskeletons of dead mites. See a video of live dust mites by clicking here.
It is also here that your problems start. As you sleep, your face is always in actual or proximate contact with your bedding. During the eight hours or so that you are in bed each night, every breath that you inhale deeply into your lungs may be saturated with dust mite allergens. For the asthmatic, every breath may be a potential trigger to an attack. Allergy sufferers have their own reactions.
If there is ever to be any expectation of resolving this particular aspect of patient care, it is absolutely essential that these allergens be eliminated or, at a bare minimum, dramatically reduced from entering the lungs.
This bedding must be laundered regularly. Therefore, choose washable sheets, pillowcases, blankets and washable mattress pads/covers. Laundering them regularly is very important!
DeMite Laundry Additive is the only practical way to eliminate virtually all dust mite allergens from this bedding or clothing at any water temperature . . . COOL, WARM or HOT. Just add the measured quantity along with your normal detergent to your wash load.
It works so well that we guarantee it!
Special Note: For the last 15 years or more years, many physicians and others have been suggesting laundering sheets and pillowcases in scalding hot 140 F degree water to eliminate dust mites. This suggestion has changed over the last few years because of its inherent dangers, and the enactment of new Federal regulations that now require the following label to be prominently displayed on all hot water heaters: “DANGER: water temperature over 120° F can cause severe burns instantly or death from scalding. Children, disabled and elderly are at highest risk of being scalded.” The U.S. Product Safety Commission also urges users to set their water heaters at 120° F.
Many of our suppliers carry the products mentioned in this article as well as DeMite Products.
